Feed-bag for horses



(No Model.)

w. H. PACK.

FEED BAG FOB HORSES.

No. 299,674. Patented June 3, 1884.

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WVILLIAM H. PACK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE E. PACK, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

FEED-BAG FOR HORSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,674, dated June 3, 1884:.

Application filed February 20, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it, may concern.-

Beit known that LWVILLIAM H. PACK, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invcnted'certain new and useful Improvements in Feed- Receptaclesfor Horses and other Draft-Animals; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention'may be stated to consist, essentially, in a cross-bar having rings at each end for holding feed-bags, pails, &c., the crossbar being supported by the tongue or pole of a wagon, all as will appear fully from the following description.

My invention is more especially adapted for teams in double harness.

So far as I am aware most devices for feeding horses and draft-animals, when in harness, have been applicable only for those in single harness. In feeding a team in double harness feed-troughs have been used. These are always bulky and in the way when not in use, and when in use are apt to fall over and frighten the horses, and are found so objectionable in all respects as to be but seldom used. When nose-bags are used suspended from the horses head, the horse becomes nearly smothered, especially in hot weather, for besides breathing over and over his own breath he is also compelled to inhale the dust and foreign matter contained in the feed, especially in oats, and he has no opportunity to lift his nose from such bag to get a breath of pure air, but must bear the injurious annoyance until the teamster removes the bag.

The object of my invention is to avoid these and many other objections, and to provide a cheap, compact, and simple apparatus which can be readily attached to and detached from the tongue or pole of a wagon; which will occopy but little space when in the wagon, and which, when in use, will hold its place securely on the tongue or pole, and will allow the horses as perfect freedom as if feeding from a trough.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents aperspective view of my invention and the manner in which it is used. Fig. 2 represents details, and Fig. 3 a modification.

A is a bar of iron (or it may be part wood and part iron) having at each end a rigidlyattached band or ring, I), intended for attaching a feed bag or pail, c, thereto, and it should have a bolt-hole, d, at or near its center, to receive a bolt, 6, which for convenience may be attached by a chain, f, to the bar to prevent its getting lost or mislaid. these rings 1) must be such relatively to the bar that, when the latter is secured to the wagon-pole, the rings shall lie substantially in a horizontal plane, the bags hanging at each end of the bar from these rings.

The positions of Bis a piece of iron secured to the wagon pole or tongue in any convenient position, and

it may be of any desired shape so long as it is adapted to receive the central part of the bar A and support it in a position crosswise of the pole or tongue. I have shown this piece B as made of a bent plate one end of which is fastened to the pole or tongue. It then bends upward from the pole, and then extends forward about parallel with the pole, leaving thus a free open space between this forward end and the pole, thus constituting a bracket, between which and the pole the bar A is placed.

This bracket thus holds the bar to its desired position, keeping it always substantially level. The bolt fastens this bar A, which thus becomes a crossbar, to the pole or tongue, and to the saddle or piece 13, and the latter prevents the cross-bar having any undue lateral or perpendicular movement. shown as having an upright part, 1, against which the edge of the cross-bar, when in place, may abut, and projecting from this upright portion a part, 2, between which and the tongue or pole the cross-bar may lie, this part 2 being of sufficient breadth to hold the cross-bar in substantially a horizontal position, and having a bolt-hole through it just above a corresponding hole in the tongue. (See Fig. 2.)

The piece B is The bar is fastened to the pole by inserting the IOO and the piece 13 then hold the bar firmly in its place.

It will be evident that any other equivalent device may be used instead of the saddle 13, so long as it is capable, in conjunction with the belt, of holding the bar properly to place on the tongue or pole, and that it might be fastened underneath or 011 the side or sides of the pole instead of on its top, as shown. The main point is that the cross-bar shall be supported by the pole or tongue and notfrom the ground or from the horse or harness.

It is very desirable to have a piece, 3, of canvas adapted to extend upward from each of the feed-bags to the breast of the horse, to catch and carry back to the bags any feed that might drop from the horses mouth when cating. This will avoid a large percentage of loss, which usually attends almost every known method of feeding animals when harnessed to vehicles.

\Vhere the vehicle is small or for any other cause it is desirable to have the cross-bar re duced in size when not in use and stored in the vehicle, I make it in two parts united by a butt-hinge, 4, near its center, as shown in Fig. 8. It can then, when removed from the pole, be folded over upon itself, one part or halflyingilatupon the other, and when opened for use and applied to the pole, the hinge holds the two parts to their extended and horizontal position.

It will be seen that in the act of eating the horses cannot upset the feed nor the bar; that there is no chance of anything falling to frighten them that there need be no waste of feed; that the device is neither bulky nor clumsy, and may be so small and compact, Whether folded or not, that it can conveniently be stowed away under a seat, or even under the cushion of a seat, and may, therefore, be used with traveling or pleasure carriages, and can be made very cheap, and for that reason alone is very desirable.

I claim In combination, the cross-bar A, provided at each end with a rigidly and horizontally attached rin adapted for holding an open feed bag or pail, as set forth, a saddle or bracket on the pole or tongue of a wagon, arranged to hold this bar firmly in its proper horizontal position, and a fastening device, substantially as described, for securing the bar to the pole and bracket.

\VM. II. PACK.

\Vitnesses:

13. F. \VALTON, G130. E. PACK. 

